The State: Silence at school has parents talking

[Occulus]

From http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/7682835.htm :

(South Carolina. Mods, I looked back several pages in LBN and didn't see this. If it was posted before, my apologies. Also, I can't seem to find a time this was posted on Sunday. If it is too old, again, my apologies.)

Posted on Sun, Jan. 11, 2004

Silence at school has parents talking
Meadowfield Elementary’s new quiet rule gets mixed reviews from parents, teachers
By GINA SMITH
Staff Writer


At Meadowfield Elementary School in Columbia, silence among students isn’t a preference — it’s a requirement.

When the school’s 600-plus students returned from winter break Tuesday, they couldn’t banter in the hallways or swap stories in the cafeteria, thanks to a new silence policy.

Instead, students read books while waiting for the school day to begin and listen to classical music in the school’s corridors and cafeteria.

(more)
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Yes, let's indoctrinate them into doing nothing but what they're told while they're young.

I'm getting sick of this, and I don't have kids.

What's going on here? These are elementary schoolchildren. They're supposed to misbehave and have inappropriate conversations; they're kids. Learning when and when not to act and talk 'badly' is part of what they're there for.

By imposing total silence, the kids learn nothing. And read on for the reference to the stoplight for speech in the cafeteria.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

1. School was already a bad place to learn social skills...

How are kids going to learn to talk to each other, if they don't talk?

[WindRavenX]

2. Yeah, this is sick!

Much of a child's verbal education comes through conversation with schoolmates in school- this could really hurt the kids' development.

[kysrsoze]

21. Even sicker? Not allowing political discussion in school - it's here!

My daughter informed me last night that her Chicago public school has a rule that kids cannot say or write anything which would be viewed as criticism of either Republicans or Democrats.

While I understand that they want to keep political discussions out of the schools, I see this as a blatant violation of the First Amendment. The lack of ability to hear/voice viewpoints in school reminds me of those fundamentalist muslim schools where the kids are made to continually recite the same passages and learn nothing else. Guess we're trying to raise some good stormtroopers here.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wuushew]

5. Try reading the article next time

A committee of parents and teachers came up with the idea to thwart bad behavior and inappropriate conversations among students.



Bashing teacher unions and the NEA will not make you popular on this board.

[0007]

14. You got that right!

Lynne Cheney & William Bennett were probably consulted and this is what they came up with, perhaps Tom Ridge put in his two cent worth by the sound of the color codes.

[October]

15. School Boards

There are a lot of conservative types who get onto the school boards.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. That's not an elementary school...

It's boot camp!

"Talking in the mess hall again, private? Drop and give me 15!"

[JailForBush]

6. So who cares?

I worked for the Seattle School District for 16 years and got sick of seeing the kids shit on by derelict school officials, the teachers union and even teachers - but mostly by corporations.

I worked at one school where the kitchen services had been privatized, and the kids were fed pig slop. I've NEVER seen kids throw so much food in the garbage. It was recently revealed that teachers were drinking bottled water at another school for five years, because the water was so bad. No one bothered to tell the parents or kids - until some nosy parents discovered unsafe levels of something or other in the water.

I began blowing the whistle years ago, but no one gives a damn - in LIBERAL Seattle! Education is the one issue where liberals don't claim the moral high ground. They're just as responsible for the rot in our schools as conservatives are.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

7. I begin to understand

Why homeschooling is becoming more popular... Okay, so how do we FIX this?

[JailForBush]

8. That's a good question!

I worked my butt off blowing the whistle, working on an enormous website documenting the "Education Mafia" and ran for public office three times, and virtually no one cared!

The only solution I can think of is to keep on spreading the word and hope that people some day begin to care. I was hoping people might take a greater interest once they discovered that education is an integral part of the Demopublican corporate blueprint for destroying America, or that education could be a powerful weapon for bringing down George W. Bush. BUT NO ONE CARES!

My revised education website will be online at http://www.edrevolt.org - hopefully in a few weeks. I'll publicize it here at DU, in hopes that a few people will join the crusade.

[0007]

20. Please don't give up the fight -

Will looking forward to your website.

[LibDemAlways]

18. In my suburban So. Cal district, where my daughter is a 5th grader,

the well-being of the kids is the last thing on the minds of the administrators.
All they care about is standardized test scores and furthering their own
careers.

The elementary school my daughter attends is directly adjacent to a public
park - no fence in between. The restrooms the kids use face the park and
are potentially open to anybody. It's a crime waiting to happen. For years I
crusaded for increased security measures and was written off as a wacko.
My daughter was punished by consistently being assigned the lease desirable
teachers in each grade level.

Meantime, they were awarded "Blue Ribbon" status. What a joke.

[teach1st]

9. Are the kids allowed to speak at other times?

My god, the horrors! Kids forced to read at school. Sure, kids learn from playing and talk, and it's essential, but sometimes in school they need to calm down.

It seems more and more parents are telling kids they don't need to listen to the adults at school. Administrators often don't want to be bothered with behavior problems. Along with other factors, this contributes to some obnoxious behavior at schools.

This particular rule seems to be a last ditch effort to deal with kids who are a bit over the top. More and more kids do need to learn to get along appropriately in a public group. Much of the bullying at school we hear about occurs right before or right after school. Teachers should be using this time to get ready for instruction. What should teachers do?

[Whoa_Nelly]

10. Inappropriate action

The kids just need "Free Speech Zones" </sarcasm>

Talking and socialing are developmental skills. Kids NEED to talk. For some it's the only way they build relationships not otherwise present in their lives--a real lifeline for even being alive. For others, it increases their verbal, listening skills, and the opportunity to learn personal boundaries through social interaction, their own, as well as recognizing the limits of others. Unless this is a private school, it seems this school is way out of line and is compromising the constitutional rights of the children affected by this thinly-veiled edict of less need to monitor interaction under the supervision of the adults in charge.

Am forwarding this article on to the ACLU.

[Jazzgirl]

11. Kind of interesting parents and teachers came up with the idea.

This sounds like the new "Stepford Children." I can't imagine not being able to interact with my friends at school. Too bad a lot of adults seem to forget what it's like growing up!

Jazzgirl

[soup]

12. Works for me.

I don't understand why everyone is so upset over this.

It was temporarily instituted after a decision made by parents and teachers - apparently in response to a growing problem.

Love the idea of the stoplight in the cafeteria. It's something even the children in kindergarten can understand and an easy way to remind the children to 'use their inside voices'.

Does it hurt the children who are already behaving well? I don't see how. It spares them from the rowdiness of those who are not willing to follow the rules.

I don't know :shrug: just don't understand why everyone's so upset.

[Whoa_Nelly]

13. The decision was made by a committee of parents and teachers...

...not all parents were involved in this process.

A committee of parents and teachers came up with the idea to thwart bad behavior and inappropriate conversations among students.

“I don’t know why, but during the last few years, they (students) haven’t had as much control of themselves,” said Meadowfield teacher Lisa Curtis, who chaired the committee.

“Even parents were saying that it seems a little more chaotic in the halls. You could tell the climate was changing and we needed to change with it.”

So the group decided silence was the best policy.

But it’s not a permanent change.

If students do a good job of keeping mum, they’ll soon be allowed to whisper. They’ll also get lessons on what’s appropriate conversation for school.

Not all children can exhibit internal locus of control. The behavior modification methods being employed to reign in the "rowdies" and indoctrinate other children to more factory/military style responses is wrong. While this is already causing dissension among the parents who were not involved in this decision, the school's new ruling could have serious repercussions on the health of some students by being forced to hold in emotions/natural responses in what is primarily a social setting.

So, here's a conundrum: What will this school do with students who are mentally and/or emotionally challenged? Will this part of the school population be separated from the body of the school? Will those who cannot conform due to mental/emotional handicaps be stripped of their rights which are to be guarded under Federal Special Education law?

[soup]

19. I've got more questions than answers.

Part of the problem I'm having is the article doesn't mention what steps were taken prior to this. Was there a general student code of conduct outlining expectations? Was it reinforced on a consistent basis? (and if it was, why would this step even be necessary?) Was this a last-ditch effort to try to gain some control over unacceptable behavior? Were notes sent home? Were there meetings between the parents of the children creating the problem and teachers? Were other methods tried first? Is it the same children repeatedly being disruptive?

What is an 'inappropriate conversation among students'? That one has me going 'hunh?'.

I went to the school's website to find more info. Thought maybe the 'silence policy' would be mentioned in the last newsletter sent home, but it's not.

Did find this,
>There are four self-contained special education classes and a program for gifted and talented students.<
http://www.richlandone.org/meadowfield/toppage11.htm
which might possibly cover your questions about the children who may not have the ability to conform to this rule.

It would be interesting to read a follow-up on the meeting that's being held today. I wonder how many parents will attend, and what questions/ suggestions/ alternative solutions will be discussed.

[booksenkatz]

16. Expect more boys to be sedated w/policies like this

Boys, in particular, have a greater need to release energy that builds up during classtime. It's harder for boys to sit still and focus in a traditional classroom. That's why it's appalling that some schools no longer have recess, which has always been such a good way for children to get out and run and release that energy. Instead, these days, boys (more than girls) tend to get "diagnosed" with ADD and all of that hocus pocus and drugged up so that they can make it through a school day without bothering the teacher. If children are not going to be allowed to let go and release their tension at any time during the school day, even in the halls or during lunchtime, we can expect many more horseshit diagnoses of ADD and the accompanying drugs, courtesy of the pharm industry. Such policies do not understand the needs/biological rhythms of children.

I firmly believe in quiet classrooms and in listening to the teacher, etc., but there are better ways of achieving that than telling kids to simply STFU for 8 hours.

[LizW2]

17. Sometimes disorder in schools is directly related

to overcrowding. My kids used to go to an elementary school that was packed way beyond its capacity and we had these types of problems. Because the halls were packed before and after school, there had to be very strict rules about "traffic" and noise. The lunchroon was bedlam. The teachers literally had to stand over their classes to keep the noise at a less than deafening level and to be able to see what was going on.

Then we moved to a new school that had about half the students of the old one and it seemed amazingly quiet and peaceful. The kids were the same, just fewer of them.

I generally dislike collective punishments for children, but sometimes they are all you have available. My older son is now in middle school, and they still get a day with "Silent Lunch" if they get really out of control.

[loudnclear]

22. Hey, it doesn't bother me. That's how I was schooled and didn't prevent

me from thinking for myself or learning all that I could. "Silence" in the classroom and halls was the rule of the day. We could talk at our lockers but no carousing in the halls. We had a great time in the cafeteria and at lunch time, but school was strictly business in classes and the halls. besides no one was allowed in the halls unless we were changing classes.

[info being]

23. As I sit here at my cube in silence wasting time...

I realize that they are learning precisely the skills they need.

[donsu]

24. america's school boards are corrupt

notice how people fight to get onto school boards

school boards wield a lot of power and act as springboards to other more lucrative gov. jobs. control the school board and you have it made.